Kate Mennella
''Kate Mennella '' Kate Antoinette Mennella is a fictional character in the Love is in the Bag graphic novel series of Alturia Hill Publishing and Studio Studio written by Ace Vitangcol and illustrated by Jed Siroy. Kate is the main protagonist of the story, a simple regular high school girl from Saint Xander International High School. She has a crush on the school's basketball star, Calvin Jacobs, but can't seem to get him to notice her because of her "condition." 'Character History' ''Background Kate Mennella debuted in Love is in the Bag Volume 1, which was first published in January 2008. Jed Siroy designed her to look introverted and shy, hence the inward curving "side bangs" covering her ears. She is often drawn with a gentle expression. Throughout the main series of Love is in the Bag, Kate is a regular high school girl with a crush on the school's basketball star, Calvin Jacobs. However she has difficulty getting him to notice her, mainly because of her condition. Whenever Kate gets excited...she magically transforms into a bag. Jokes and scenarios throughout the series (most notably in the first volume) revolve around this predicament. While the authors are of Filipino descent, the characters' nationalities--and the location of the story--are kept vague to give the story a more universal appeal. Only three characters (Calvin Jacobs, Mark Spencer, and Genevieve Van Heusen) are described as transferees from London. A fourth character, H????, is from Japan. Kate's nationality is never mentioned. Character Kate is a very meek and gentle character who spends most of her time in the school library. She is conservative, almost to the level of being a prude, and is often shocked by the relatively forward actions that her best friend Kara Francesco suggests she do to get Calvin Jacobs' attention. This conservative balance makes Kate the traditional, responsible, good girl persona that readers can relate to and emulate. In his review of volume 1, Ronald Lim of the Manila Bulletin stated that the jokes being on the "mild side of PG13 may also be something that parents will appreciate." Besides being portrayed as meek and gentle, Kate Mennella is also a responsible daughter to her mother, Lulu Mennella, a loving master to her dog Cobi, an academic achiever at school, a very loyal friend, and a charitable person as she is a volunteer at the school library after class hours. She seems to be very learned in the field of History, particularly European history, as she becomes the tutor of Calvin Jacobs and teaches him about Greek history. Kate is also a terrific cook, and she gets to show this talent off in volume 3 when she competed against Genevieve Van Heusen in a spoof contest of the popular TV series, Iron Chef. She also showed some skill in cheerdancing in that same volume. Kate is 16 years old and is a senior at Saint Xander International High School where she is in class 4-B along with her best friend Kara and her rival Genevieve. Kate lives with her mother, Lulu Mennella, and their dog Cobi. Her father's photo frame sits prominently in the living room. Kate's Condition'' Whenever Kate gets excited (usually from seeing or being reminded about Calvin Jacobs) she transforms into a bag. This occurs instantly, with a cloud of white smoke. While the process for this transformation is never stated in the series, the reason for it was revealed at the ending of volume 3.